Unless otherwise indicated herein, the description in this section is not prior art to the claims in this application and is not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section.
There has been known an image reading apparatus, for a copier, a facsimile, a scanner, or a multi-functional peripheral, that has a configuration including a movable carriage under a platen (a platen glass). With this image reading apparatus, a document is placed on the platen with a read-target face facing the platen. The image on the document can be read by the movement of the carriage.
This multi-functional peripheral employs a continuous reading function. The continuous reading function treats image data obtained over several times as integrated image data (one image data file). The use of the continuous reading function ensures, for example, reading respective pages of a booklet document like a book and obtaining the read image data as one image data file.
To obtain the image data on the respective pages of the booklet document, the following work is required. Whenever the reading of the read-target page is completed, the booklet on the platen is picked up, the next read-target page is opened, and the booklet is placed on the platen again. In this case, the following complicated work is required. Whenever the booklet is placed again, a start button, which starts image reading, is pressed.
To eliminate such complicated work, the following configuration has been disclosed. After an image forming apparatus with a continuous reading function completes reading the documents, a platen cover is opened to exchange the document on a platen. When a document size detected after the exchange is identical to the document size of the already-obtained document, after an elapse of predetermined time, the image reading automatically starts.